Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Beekissed]

My little New Hamp lays a speckled, perfect egg and sometimes it has stripes around it of lighter brown...sort of like an Easter egg. She is the only one of my flocks that has ever laid an egg with stripes...she has a distinctive egg. Those are the easy ones. I have a BA that always has a rumple at the end of her eggs. The BR that is currently laying has a pale, long egg.

It all gets harder when you have bigger flocks, but if you keep your birds for awhile and notice their comings and goings, their laying cackle,etc, it becomes a little easier to pick out some of the more distinctive layers and their eggs.

 

[delisha]

I finally found some NuStock locally yesterday... Might try some on the hubby, if I've got half the luck of Bee, I'll wake up to Brad Pitt tomorrow morning!

 

[Mountain Momma]

I have found this site very, very helpful whether I'm culling one bird or 10 birds: http://butcherachicken.blogspot.com/ Lots of pictures too! I feel like I am becoming quite skilled at it.
end quote

I thought thissite was very educational, the photography was great and the displayswere scientific. Below is another that I found that I liked as well. Was also entertaining.
How to Kill a Chicken (Video)
www.treehugger.com
From visiting tiny houses to training chickens to eat slugs, I am somewhat addicted to Paul Wheaton's permaculture-related YouTube channel. My latest discovery is likely to be a little controversial—a thoughtful

L

 

[Mrs.ChickChick]

This is perhaps my all time favorite hen. I know, I know, given the thousands of birds I've had, that is saying alot, but I mean it. She has laid an egg, every day, every day for going on 2 years. She's friendly as beagle pup, thrifty, smart as a whip. She trains all my young pullets to lay in the nest. 100% of them. She's quiet, not the least bit bossy and a great flock mate.

You almost cannot buy a bird like this. You'd have to buy a few HUNDRED hatchery chicks and maybe, maybe, like hitting Red 17 on a Vegas Roulette Wheel, you might get one. We bred her, 4th generation bird. She's Number One for this spring's hatching season. I intend to hatch every egg she lays in March and April. That's how strongly I feel about this. That's why she is in my avatar.

Is this a White Plymoth Rock? She's a beauty and what wonderful traits.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Is this a White Plymoth Rock? She's a beauty and what wonderful traits.

She's 100% pure mutt. 4th generation ISA Brown. ISA's don't breed true, of course, but this white line does pop out in the F2 and F3. She does have that WR look and that could be strengthened by putting a good WR cock over her. Sadly, I do not have one at my disposal.
At least not until after the Columbus Nationals, maybe, maybe.

 

[unkadan]

She's 100% pure mutt. 4th generation ISA Brown. ISA's don't breed true, of course, but this white line does pop out in the F2 and F3. She does have that WR look and that could be strengthened by putting a good WR cock over her. Sadly, I do not have one at my disposal.
At least not until after the Columbus Nationals, maybe, maybe.

well all righty then,,,that answered my next question

hope that new rooster shows up for you Fred

 

[bruceh]

This is perhaps my all time favorite hen. I know, I know, given the thousands of birds I've had, that is saying alot, but I mean it. She has laid an egg, every day, every day for going on 2 years. She's friendly as beagle pup, thrifty, smart as a whip. She trains all my young pullets to lay in the nest. 100% of them. She's quiet, not the least bit bossy and a great flock mate.

You almost cannot buy a bird like this. You'd have to buy a few HUNDRED hatchery chicks and maybe, maybe, like hitting Red 17 on a Vegas Roulette Wheel, you might get one. We bred her, 4th generation bird. She's Number One for this spring's hatching season. I intend to hatch every egg she lays in March and April. That's how strongly I feel about this. That's why she is in my avatar.

fred i love her stature . i was reading of what you might breed her with. just looking at her you could also use a rhode island white as i am looking more at her. the rock maybe the better choice. does walt have anything you could use?
do you have a picture of her pelvic region . in other words lets see a picture of her butt.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Rhode Island Whites are impossible to find. The white bird claimed by hatcheries to supposedly used in their RSL mixes is NOT a true RIW. First, they always show them with a single comb, while a RIW has a rose comb. This is one of the bigger frauds perpetrated broadly in the chicken world, stateside, I believe. OK, off my soapbox.

The ISA (RSL) comes from Europe, France in particular, so the odds are great that one of the lines used in the 4 way cross development of the ISA was a White Sussex. I am told that Europeans have more White Sussex "type" commercial birds than we can imagine. Since the 4 original strains used to create the ISA are kept under proprietary wraps, and have likely now been bred so long as to not be ANY recognizable "breed", we will never know what the White is in the ISA Brown.

I can only tell you this. When you breed the ISA, these white birds appear and they are terrific. In some ways, superior to the original ISA. She'd pass for a hatchery White Rock, but not a heritage WR. I'm undecided as to which direction to take these white birds. Back to an RSL look or push them toward the White Rock look and type. I just don't know yet.

 

[bruceh]

Rhode Island Whites are impossible to find. The white bird claimed by hatcheries to supposedly used in their RSL mixes is NOT a true RIW. First, they always show them with a single comb, while a RIW has a rose comb. This is one of the bigger frauds perpetrated broadly in the chicken world, stateside, I believe. OK, off my soapbox.

The ISA (RSL) comes from Europe, France in particular, so the odds are great that one of the lines used in the 4 way cross development of the ISA was a White Sussex. I am told that Europeans have more White Sussex "type" commercial birds than we can imagine. Since the 4 original strains used to create the ISA are kept under proprietary wraps, and have likely now been bred so long as to not be ANY recognizable "breed", we will never know what the White is in the ISA Brown.

I can only tell you this. When you breed the ISA, these white birds appear and they are terrific. In some ways, superior to the original ISA. She'd pass for a hatchery White Rock, but not a heritage WR. I'm undecided as to which direction to take these white birds. Back to an RSL look or push them toward the White Rock look and type. I just don't know yet.

i feel ya fred. i thinking the same of the rose comb. that is why i suggested the rhode island white and suggested walt. i would breed her to a very good bred bird non hatchery. personally i am auto sexing kinda guy but then again i'm kinda lazy .so yeah i can see the debate of which way to go.
i am not sure but i think sandhill preservation sells rosecomb r..i.w..
i am doing some research this off topic, not this year but maybe next year 2014. i thinking of trying the scots dumpy.

 

[Pozees]

i feel ya fred. i thinking the same of the rose comb. that is why i suggested the rhode island white and suggested walt. i would breed her to a very good bred bird non hatchery. personally i am auto sexing kinda guy but then again i'm kinda lazy .so yeah i can see the debate of which way to go.
i am not sure but i think sandhill preservation sells rosecomb r..i.w..
i am doing some research this off topic, not this year but maybe next year 2014. i thinking of trying the scots dumpy.

Indeed they do, Bruce, but their website says they were not available for the entire year 2012. Perhaps they will have some this coming year. I have never ordered from them, have you?